Night of the Demon (1957) – Nostalgia Central

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Eminent English scientist Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham) meets a violent demise after threatening to show Physician Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), a queer character who specialises within the occult.

Harrington’s fairly niece, Joanna (Peggy Cummins), explains the occasions to younger American psychologist John Holden (Dana Andrews), however he finds it troublesome to imagine Karswell is responsible of witchcraft.

Holden subsequently discovers that the one one who could have offered info on the alleged group of occultists, Rand Hobart (Brian Wilde), has been arrested for homicide and fallen right into a catatonic state, having sketched a demonic creature resembling historic woodcuts.

On the British Museum, Holden encounters Karswell, who invitations him to his dwelling at Lufford Corridor to point out him a replica of a uncommon ebook the museum has misplaced and urges him to desert his investigation into the cult.

Karswell additionally palms the American a chunk of parchment coated in runes, much like the one given to Professor Harrington earlier than his demise.

Joanna explains to Holden that she has learn her uncle’s diary and believes Karswell cursed him through the same piece of parchment containing runic symbols.

Collectively, they head to Lufford Corridor (in actuality, Brocket Corridor close to Welwyn Backyard Metropolis) to see the ebook Holden wants and to study extra about Karswell. When Holden questions the reality of Karswell’s work, the mystic summons a windstorm to show his powers and predicts Holden will die in three days.

When lastly capable of look at Rand Hobart, Holden locations the person right into a hypnotic state and discovers that Hobart had been chosen to die however returned his cursed parchment, thus redirecting the hex.

Holden exhibits him his personal parchment, and Hobart jumps to his demise via a window.

Studying that Karswell has left the realm by practice, Holden offers chase and finds the occultist ostensibly calm however secretly terrified.

Because the time for the manifestation of the curse approaches, Holden sneaks the parchment into Karswell’s coat pocket, transferring the curse. Panicking, Karswell pursues the fluttering paper onto the practice tracks, however he’s too late. The parchment combusts, and a flaming demon seems as a practice roars by.

Karswell’s mutilated physique is later discovered by railway workers, who assume from his accidents that he has been hit by a practice.

Regardless of an irrelevant seance scene and a ridiculously phoney monster launched at first and finish of the movie (director Jacques Tourneur by no means deliberate to point out the monster, however the studio insisted and added it in post-production with out Tourneur’s consent), Evening of the Demon is eerie and suspenseful and has change into one of the vital lauded British horror movies.

Based mostly on M.R. James’s 1911 brief story Casting of the Runes, the movie was launched in some markets as Curse of the Demon.

The road of dialogue “It’s within the bushes! It’s coming!” (spoken by Maurice Denham) was sampled and utilized by Kate Bush for the intro of her 1985 tune Hounds of Love.

John Holden
Dana Andrews
Joanna Harrington
Peggy Cummins
Dr Julian Karswell
Niall MacGinnis
Professor Henry Harrington
Maurice Denham
Mrs Karswell
Athene Seyler
Mark O’Brien
Liam Redmond
Mr Meek
Reginald Beckwith
Lloyd Williamson
Ewan Roberts
Kumar
Peter Elliott
Maggie Meek
Rosamund Greenwood
Rand Hobart
Brian Wilde
Inspector Mottram
Richard Leech
Detective Simmons
Lloyd Lamble
Superintendent
Peter Hobbes
Chemist
Charles Lloyd Pack
Librarian
John Salew
Mrs Hobart
Janet Barrow
Farmer
Percy Herbert
Air Hostess
Lynn Tracy
Narrator
Shay Gorman